Electrical plug to receptacle latch

ABSTRACT

A latch assembly for engaging and disengaging a multiple contact pin plug assembly with respective receptacles of a friction receptacle assembly in which a handle movably mounted on one of the assemblies operates interengageable means on the assemblies to force the pins into frictional engagement in one direction of movement of the handle and positively withdraws the pins from the receptacles in the other direction of movement of the handle. My assembly provides a positive locking action when the contact pins are in the receptacle.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Paul R. Gley Hillsdale, NJ. [21] Appl. No. 854,331 [22] Filed June 10, 1969 Division Ser. No. 645,456, June 12,1967, Pat. No. 3,488,622 [45] Patented Apr. 20, 1971 [73] Assignee Rex Chainbelt, Inc.

Milwaukee, Wis.

[54] ELECTRICAL PLUG TO RECEPTACLE LATCH 4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 339/45, 339/75 [51] Int. Cl H011 13/62 [50] Field of Search 339/45, 75, 91

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,432,120 12/1947 Neill 339/10 2,510,944 6/ 1950 Auerbach 339/75(M)X 2,594,748 4/1952 Earl 339/18(B) 2,724,094 11/1955 Lewis 339/45(M)X 2,993,187 7/1961 Bisbingetal. ..339/75(MP)X 3,059,206 10/1962 339/45(M) 3,065,441 11/1962 339/91x 3,335,386 8/1967 Upton 339/45(M)X FOREIGN PATENTS 100,957 9/1925 Austria 339/91 658,628 10/1951 GreatBritain 339/75 Primary ExaminerMarvin A. Champion Assistant Examiner-Patrick A. Clifford Attorney-Shenier and OConnor PATENTED APRZO |97| INVENTOR. Paul A G Q T TORNEYS instant specification and BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are known in the prior art electrical plug and receptacle assemblies in which the plug assembly carries a multiplicity of contact pins adapted to frictionally engage the walls of respective receptacles carried by the receptacle assembly. The aggregate frictional force with which the assemblies are held together when in fully mated condition is appreciable. As a result, a relatively large force is required both to bring the plug assembly and the receptacle assembly into operative relationship and to separate the plug assembly from the receptacle assembly.

In the prior art in order to achieve the operation of connecting the plug assembly to the receptacle assembly, screws normally are employed. This arrangement involves a number of disadvantages. First, the operation of fastening the plug assembly to the receptacle assembly in this manner is a time consuming one. Another disadvantage of this arrangement is that the completeness with which the plug and receptacle assemblies have been brought together cannot readily be determined. There is moreover no easy way of determining whether or not the screws have become crossthreaded or otherwise damaged in the course of the fastening operation.

I have invented an electrical plug to receptacle latch which overcomes the defects of fastening means which have heretofore been employed to secure the plug assembly to the receptacle assembly. My latch assembly permits the plug to be assembled on the receptacle in a rapid and expeditious manner. It locks the plug to the receptacle in such a way as minimizes the possibility of accidental disengagement of the parts as a result of vibration or the like. My latch assembly permits the degree of completeness of the assembly operation to be readily visually determined.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One object of my invention is to provide an electrical plug to receptacle latch which overcomes the defects of plug to receptacle fastening means known in the prior art.

Another object of my invention is to provide an electrical plug to receptacle latch assembly which permits a plug assembly to be secured in operative relationship with a receptacle assembly in a rapid and expeditious manner.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an electrical plug to receptacle assembly which permits visual inspection to determine the degree of completeness of the assembling operation.

Other and further objects of my invention will appear from the following description.

In general my invention contemplates the provision of an electrical plugto receptacle latch in which a rotating handle on one of the two assemblies operates interengageable means on the respective assemblies with a mechanical advantage to provide a unifonn force for drawing the parts together securely to assemble the plug assembly on the receptacle assembly. Reversal of the direction of handle movement provides a positive force for withdrawing the plug pins from the receptacles. Visual observation of the condition of my latch readily indicates whether or not the plug assembly and latch assembly have been brought into their fully engaged condition. In the mated condition of the assemblies, my latch assembly has a positive locking action.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings which form part of the which are to be read in conjunction therewith and in which'like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the various views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a plug and receptacle assembly provided with one form of my electrical plug to receptacle latch before the plug and receptacle have been assembled.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the form of my latch shown in FIG. I after operation to bring the plug and receptacle into fully mated condition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIG. I of the drawings, the electrical-plug indicated generally by the reference character 10 with which my latch is used includes a casing I2 and a body 14 carrying a multiplicity of electrical contacts 16 associated with a plurality of terminals I8 to which leads can be connected to make contact with the connectors 16. It will readily be understood that while I have shown only a few of the contacts 16 and terminals 18, as a matter of fact the body I4 carries a very large number of contacts and terminals. The receptacle assembly indicated generally by the reference character 20 for receiving the plug assembly 10 comprises a base 22 and a casing 24 provided with a plurality of receptacles 26 for receiving the plug pins 16 to make the electrical connections which are intended to be made by means of the plug and receptacle assembly. As is known in the art, when the latch assembly I0 is fully mated with the receptacle assembly 20, pins I6 are frictionally engaged with the walls of the receptacles 26.

I provide the plug it) with respective leftand right-hand latch assemblies 28 and 30 which are adapted to engage respective strike pins, of which only the pin 32 associated with the right-hand latch assembly is shown. Each of the assemblies 28 and 30 includes a supporting bracket 34, the base 36 of which is secured to the casing 12 means of bolts 38 and nuts 40. Each of the brackets 34 carries a pivot pin 42 which supports a handle 44 for pivotal movement. I provide each of the handles 44 with a thumbpiece 46 which facilitates operation of the latch.

Each of the handles 44 carries an eccentric pin 48 for pivotally supporting a drawhookSt), the hook S2 of which is adapted to engage one of the strike pins 32 when the latch is operated. Each of the drawhooks 50 is formed with a projection 54 adapted to be engaged by the thumbpiece 46 as the assembly is moved to the closed position. It will be appreciated that as the handle 44 moves from the open position shown in FIG. I to the closed position shown in FIG. 2, the pivot pin 48 of drawhook 50 moves from a top dead center position remote from base 22 to a bottom dead center position adjacent base 22.

Considering the operation of the assembly 30, for example, with the parts in the position shown in FIG. I, the plug assembly I0 is moved down into the receptacle assembly 20 with the pins 16 aligned with the holes 26. I provide the casing 12 with a guide pin 56 adapted to be moved into a slot 58 as the plug assembly It) moves into the receptacle assembly 20 to ensure the initial alignment of the pins 16 with the holes 26. If

desired, I may provide another pin and slot offset with respect to the pin and slot 56 to ensure that the proper pins 16 are aligned with the holes 26. With the parts in this position, the handle 44 is moved in a clockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. I to the position shown in FIG. 2. When this is done, thumbpiece 46 engages the drawhook 50 to ensure that the hook 32 moves under pin 32. Upon further movement of the handle 44, eccentric pin 48 moves to an over dead center position with respect to the pin 42 to provide a toggle latching action.

The operation of the latch assembly 28 is substantially the same as is that of the assembly 30. Preferably, however, I so arrange this assembly as to require a counterclockwise movement of handle 44 to bring the parts from their open position to their closed or locking position. Further to facilitate a visual inspection to determine the condition of the parts, I mark the exposed side of thumbpiece 26 in the position of the parts shown in FIG. 1 with the legend open." I mark the other surface of the thumbpiece 46, which is the exposed surface when the parts are in the position shown in FIG. 2, with the legend closed." To separate the plug assembly from the receptacle assembly 20, the direction of operation of the two handles 44 of the latch assemblies 28 and 30 is reversed from that described above. As the handles are moved the flat lower edges of the drawhooks 50 engage the baseplate 22 to provide a positive force for withdrawing the pins 16 from receptacles 26. lt will be observed that in the fully mated condition of the plug assembly 10 with the receptacle assembly 20 eccentric pin 48 has traveled to a position beyond dead center with respect to the handle shaft 42.

lt is to be understood that with the form of my invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, l contemplate concomitant operation of both the assemblies 28 and 30. Further it will be appreciated that I could so arrange the assemblies that the handles 44 both moved in the same direction from open to closed position. lf that is done, I could provide a crossbar for interconnecting the handles. If such were the case, however, the leads connected to the terminals 18 would have to be brought out relatively close to the body 14 of the plug assembly 10.

The operation of my latch assembly for securing an electrical plug assembly to an electrical receptacle assembly will be apparent from the description given hereinabove. ln the form of the latch assemblies 28 and 30 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; the respective handles of the two assemblies are rotated counterclockwise and clockwise as viewed in HO. 1 after initial positioning of the plug assembly 10 with respect to the latch assembly 20. When the handles have been moved to fully closed position, a toggle action holds the plug assembly firmly in place on the receptacle assembly. When it is desired to disengage the parts, rotation of the handles is reversed and in the course of that operation, the lower edges of the drawhooks 50 engage the base 22 to provide a positive action for withdrawing the pins 16 from the holes 26.

My latch assembly provides a positive lock when the plug and latch assemblies are completely mated.

It will be seen that l have accomplished the objects of my invention. l have provided a latch assembly for securing an electrical plug assembly to an electrical receptacle assembly in a rapid and expeditious manner. My assembly permits a visual inspection readily to indicate whether or not the parts are fully mated. My assembly provides a positive force for engaging the parts and for locking them in engaged position. lt also provides a positive force for withdrawing the plug pins from the receptacle holes. It does not require any auxiliary or special tools for its operation.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. It is further obvious that various changes may be made in details without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

lclaim:

l. A latch assembly for securing a multiple pin electrical connection assembly to an electrical receptacle assembly having a multiplicity of respective receptacles for frictionally receiving said pins including in combination, a base on one of said assemblies, a lug on said one assembly spaced from said base, a handle, means mounting said handle on the other of said assemblies for pivotal movement between an open and a closed position around an axis generally parallel to the plane of said base, a drawhook having a hook opening adjacent one end thereof and means pivotally mounting said drawhook on said handle at a point spaced from said axis for movement between a top dead center position remote from said base and a bottom dead center position adjacent to said base in response to movement of said handle from its open position to its closed position said hook o ning receiving said lug with said one hook end between sardifig and said base to cause said hook to drive said pins into said receptacles in response to movement of said handle from open to closed position, the distance between said bottom dead center position and said base in the closed position of said handle being less than the distance between said drawhook pivot point and said base in said closed position to cause said one drawhook end to exert a force on said base tending to draw said pins out of said receptacles as said handle moves from said closed to said open position and auxiliary interengageable means on said handle and on said drawhook operative with said drawhook in engagement with said lug for limiting the movement of said handle toward closed position to a position corresponding generally to the top dead center position of said drawhook operative with said drawhook in engagement with said lug for limiting the movement of said handle toward closed position to a position corresponding generally to the top dead center position of said drawhook.

2. A latch assembly as in claim 1 in which said auxiliary interengageable means comprise a thumbpiece on said handle and a projection on said drawhook.

3. A latch assembly as in claim 1 including a second lug on said one assembly spaced from said base, a second handle, means mounting said second handle on said other assembly for pivotal movement between an open and a closed position around an axis generally parallel to the plane of said base, a second drawhook having a hook opening adjacent one end thereof and means pivotally mounting said second drawhook on said second handle at a point spaced from said second handle axis for movement between a top dead center position remote from said base and a bottom dead center position adjacent to said base in response to movement of said second handle from its open position to its closed position, the distance between said bottom dead center position of said second drawhook and said base in the closed position of said second handle being less than the distance between said second drawhook pivot point and said base in the closed position of said second handle.

4. A latch assembly as in claim 3 in which the axes of said handles lie along a common straight line.

mgg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 75.685 Band April 20, 197] Inventofla) Paul R. Gley It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected ll shown below:

Column 4, lines 31 to 34, delete:

"operative with said drawhook in engagement with said lug for limiting the movement of said handle toward closed position to a position corresponding generally to the top dead center position of said drawhook" Signed and sealed this 13th day of July 1971.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FI.ETCHER,JR. WILLIAM E. SCHU'Y'LER, Attasting Officer Commissioner of Paton 

1. A latch assembly for securing a multiple pin electrical connection assembly to an electrical receptacle assembly having a multiplicity of respective receptacles for frictionally receiving said pins including in combination, a base on one of said assemblies, a lug on said one assembly spaced from said base, a handle, means mounting said handle on the other of said assemblies for pivotal movement between an open and a closed position around an axis generally parallel to the plane of said base, a drawhook having a hook opening adjacent one end thereof and means pivotally mounting said drawhook on said handle at a point spaced from said axis for movement between a top dead center position remote from said base and a bottom dead center position adjacent to said base in response to movement of said handle from its open position to its closed position, said hook opening receiving said lug with said one hook end between said lug and said base to cause said hook to drive said pins into said receptacles in response to movement of said handle from open to closed position, the distance between said bottom dead center position and said base in the closed position of said handle being less than the distance between said drawhook pivot point and said base in said closed position to cause said one drawhook end to exert a force on said base tending to draw said pins out of said receptacles as said handle moves from said closed to said open position and auxiliary interengageable means on said handle and on said drawhook operative with said drawhook in engagement with said lug for limiting the movement of said handle toward closed position to a position corresponding generally to the top dead center position of said drawhook operative with said drawhook in engagement with said lug for limiting the movement of said handle toward closed position to a position corresponding generally to the top dead center position of said drawhook.
 2. A latch assembly as in claim 1 in which said auxiliary interengageable means comprise a thumbpiece on said handle and a projection on said drawhook.
 3. A latch assembly as in claim 1 including a second lug on said one assembly spaced from said base, a second handle, means mounting said second handle on said other assembly for pivotal movement between an open and a closed position around an axis generally parallel to the plane of said base, a second drawhook having a hook opening adjacent one end thereof and means pivotally mounting said second drawhook on said second handle at a point spaced from said second handle axis for movement between a top dead center position remote from said base and a bottom dead center position adjacent to said base in response to movement of said second handle from its open position to its closed position, the distance between said bottom dead center position of said second drawhook and said base in the closed position of said second handle being less than the distance between said second drawhook pivot point and said base in the closed position of said second handle.
 4. A latch assembly as in claim 3 in which the axes of said handles lie along a common straight line. 